Back in stock: Malabrigo Rasta!

Malabrigo Rasta has been hard to get a hold of lately, so we were extra excited to get a few bags of this super soft, super bulky yarn!

Malabrigo Rasta:

  • super bulky weight
  • single ply
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% merino wool
  • 90 yards/150 g
  • $23 each

Rasta is plush and squishy, perfectly suited to cold-weather accessories, and one skein makes a hat or cowl in a hurry.

Here are a few hat pattern ideas for Rasta:

And a few cowls:

Order online for local pickup or shipping – these skeins never hang around for long, so get in touch soon if you’d like to claim some!

Malabrigo Sock + Temperance Shawl.

We’re delighted to have three new shades of Malabrigo Sock, just in time for Malabrigo’s 2021 KAL!

Malabrigo Sock:

  • light fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated and semi-solid colorways
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 440 yards/100g
  • $19.50 each

The “Temperance Shawl” above is knit with these 3 new shades, Gingy, Myths, and Jasmine. The pattern is available as a free download from Ravelry, and the knit-along starts on April 1 – read more about it on the Malabrigo blog.

I love the warm, muted quality of these three shades, but we’ve got other interesting combinations here in the Malabrigo Sock cubby – can’t wait to see what folks come up with!

Order online for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail shipping. Though we’re still closed to walk-in visits, we’re happy to send more photos and answer any questions you may have as you plan your project!

New year’s eve.

What are you working on as 2020 comes to an end? Anne and I have closed up shop for the day, and we’ll be closed tomorrow, Jan. 1, as well. Now’s the time for rest, year-end contemplation, and knitting, of course – here’s a peek at our current projects.

Anne has been busy stitching for her grandchildren all year, and is closing in on this intricate lace pullover, “Leaf Sweater for Kids.”

She’s using a semisolid shade of Malabrigo Sock, which shows off the lace pattern beautifully. I’m looking forward to seeing it after blocking!

I’ve started another “Stasis” pullover, a replacement for one of my most loved sweaters, which I’ve worn out and mended several times – you can see it here, in a long ago show-and-tell blog post. For my second “Stasis,” I’m using a marled shade of Brooklyn Tweed Loft as my main color, and assorted bits and pieces of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift for my contrast colors. It took a bit of sketching and swatching to get to this particular arrangement of colors, which was good fun in and of itself. Below are my first and second drafts, and above is what I settled on.

 

Your kindness and support have meant the world to us this year – wishing health and happiness to you and yours in 2021!

Back in stock: Malabrigo Caprino!

We were thrilled to unpack a long-awaited box of Malabrigo Caprino this week!

Malabrigo Caprino:

  • DK weight
  • hand-dyed, variegated, speckled, and semi-solid colorways
  • 80% merino, 20% cashmere
  • 159 yards/50 g
  • $18 each

Like many Malabrigo yarns, Caprino comes in a familiar selection of semi-solid, variegated, and speckled colorways.

Earlier this year, I used 6 skeins of Caprino to make a “Nightshift,” Andrea Mowry’s oh-so-popular slip-stitch shawl. Never mind that the pattern called for aran weight yarn and Caprino is DK – I liked the fabric I got on a US 7 needle and after blocking it was plenty big enough, if not an exact match of Mowry’s suggested dimensions.

If you’d like to make a “Nightshift” with Caprino, get in touch and we’ll help you put some colors together!

If “Nightshift” isn’t your thing, or you’ve already made one or two, here are some other patterns to consider:

Eager to get some Caprino into your hands and onto your needles? Order online for local pickup or shipping!

Back in stock: Malabrigo Sock.

We recently got a fresh supply of Malabrigo Sock to fill out our selection!

Malabrigo Sock:

  • light fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated and semi-solid colorways
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 440 yards/100g
  • $19.50 each

This soft, machine-washable merino wool is dyed in the vivid multicolor and semisolid colorways we’ve come to expect from Malabrigo. Sock is perfect not only for socks, but also shawls, scarves, lightweight sweaters, and baby things.

Colors this vibrant beg to be combined, whether it’s a semi-solid shade like Water Green that seems designed to complement the variegated Kris, or two classic Malabrigo blues that happen to go beautifully with our own anniversary colorway, Rite.

Here are some knit patterns for two shades of fingering weight yarn, put together in a variety of ways – held together for a marled effect, stranded, striped, and more!

  • “Zorzal,” by Lisa Hannes – crescent-shaped, color-block shawl, with short rows and stripes
  • “Pianta Bandana Cowl,” by Lavanya Patricella – brioche and garter stitch
  • “Rhubarb Cowl,” by String Revolution – marled, yarn held doubled throughout, with slip stitch columns
  • “Tidebreak tee,” by Tif Neilan – top-down, short-sleeved pullover, with slipped stitches and a bit of stranded colorwork at the yoke; worked with yarn held doubled throughout
  • “Confetti,” by Veera Välimäki – top-down, long-sleeved pullover, striped

Crocheters, I didn’t forget you! Check out these patterns for Malabrigo Sock:

Order online for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail shipping. Though we’re closed to walk-in visits, we’re happy to send more photos and answer any questions you may have as you plan your project!

Cody + Arroyo + The Shift.

We’re so pleased to have a new bundle of Malabrigo Arroyo in stock!

Malabrigo Arroyo:

  • sport weight
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 335 yards/100g
  • $18.40 each

Unpacking and arranging the Arroyo had me daydreaming about Andrea Mowry’s “The Shift” again, thinking about what other sport weight yarns would play well with Arroyo in this slip stitch cowl. That brought me to Mountain Meadow Wool Cody, a springy and soft 2-ply merino.

Mountain Meadow Wool Cody:

  • sport weight
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% nonsuperwash merino wool
  • 200 yards/50 g
  • $9.80 each

Mountain Meadow Wool is a small yarn company out of Wyoming that is dedicated to producing locally sourced and naturally processed yarns. Run by co-owners Karen Hostetler and Valerie Spanos, Mountain Meadow Wool seeks to support the ranching industry, thereby preserving the open spaces of the American West. Thinking of those open spaces and others, I’ve named each of these “The Shift” colorways for mountain ranges around the country.

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for all your support through our temporary closure to walk-ins!

Washted + Rios + Nightshift!

Our recent Malabrigo Rios restock has us thinking about Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” again, that popular slip stitch shawl that still seems to be on everyone’s needles. We’ve seen several knitters make it using Rios and Washted, another Malabrigo yarn.

Malabrigo Washted:

  • worsted weight
  • single ply
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% superwash merino
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $16 each

Flashback to Pam’s “Nightshift” in progress – look closely and you can see she’s used both plied and single ply yarns.

The combination of plied Rios and single ply Washted makes for intriguing texture along with exciting color – here are a couple of ideas!

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup.

New colors in Malabrigo Rasta!

Malabrigo recently released a bunch of new colors in their super bulky Rasta yarn, and with our cooling weather, we’re especially excited to have them in stock!

Malabrigo Rasta:

  • super bulky weight
  • single ply
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% merino wool
  • 90 yards/150 g
  • $22 each

Rasta is plush and squishy, perfectly suited to cold-weather accessories, and one skein makes a hat or cowl in a hurry!

Here are a few hat pattern ideas for Rasta:

And a few cowls:

Along with the Pintada collection, we also have Malabrigo Rasta in the semisolid and variegated colorways pictured below.

Order online for local pickup or shipping!

Malabrigo Rios is here!

Malabrigo Rios is back in stock! We recently received a big box of some of our favorite colors, along with a couple we hadn’t seen before. The photos below show every color we have on our shelf right now, but place your orders quickly if there’s something here you’re interested in – Rios is one of the most popular yarns at our shop, and it sells fast!

Malabrigo Rios:

  • worsted weight
  • hand-dyed in variegated and semi-solid colorways
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $16 each

Lisa Hannes is an avid designer of shawls, and I noticed two in her portfolio that recommend Malabrigo Rios – “Interlude” and “Ice Cream Shawl.” I’ve put together some color combinations with these shawls in mind, though there are so many other possibilities!

Order online if one of these colorways sparks your curiosity, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for all your support through our temporary closure!

Show and tell at a distance.

Since we closed our doors to walk-in visits back in March, we’ve seen a lot less of our community, and though it’s the right thing to do in terms of safety, we sure miss seeing all of you! We also miss the inspiring works-in-progress and finished projects you’d bring in for show and tell. Fortunately, we can still see your creations from a safe distance – we’ve had some folks send photos, and others bring their knits with them when they pick up their orders outside the shop! Let’s have a look.

Amy made this “Juneberry” shawl with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, a DK weight Targhee wool yarn whose sharp stitch definition does this pattern justice.

Katherine used Malabrigo Rios to knit this “Scalloped Shawl,” which looks just lovely in this pastoral setting. Rios has been more popular than ever, and we’re doing our best to keep it in stock in spite of production delays and backorders!

 

Sue has a fondness for Rios, too – she’s been keeping herself busy knitting hat after hat with this soft and squishy yarn! Here are some of the patterns she’s used, all free downloads from Ravelry:

Yet another project in Malabrigo Rios is above, at right – Margaretta’s second (or third, or fourth? I’ve lost count!) “Umaro” blanket. She made the one on the left with Berroco Ultra Wool DK.

Here’s another of Margaretta’s projects, a “Furrow Cowl” knit with Austermann Merino Silk.

Nancy was the first of many to order yarn from us for “Katie’s Kep,” the Shetland Wool Week hat for 2020. We helped her pick colors of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, and it’s delightful to see how beautifully they came together in the finished hat.

 

Thanks to Amy, Katherine, Sue, Margaretta, and Nancy, for sharing your work with us! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next, and encourage anyone working with yarn from our shop to send photos or bring along your projects when you’re picking up an order. Stay in touch, and keep stitching!